The invention relates to a device for collecting and removing by suction gaseous media, especially air, containing solid and/or illiquid contaminants. The device comprises at least one swirl chamber that has at least a partially circular cross-section and comprises at least one removal opening.
It is known to arrange machine tools in housing-like enclosures. During machining of workpieces on these machine tools, the air contained in the space enclosed by the enclosure is removed by suction. The air contains in general contaminants in the form of metal dust, metal particles or metal cuttings, droplets of cooling lubricant, and the like. In order to prevent these contaminants from reaching the suction or vacuum system as the air is being removed by suction from the housing-like enclosure, it is known to separate these solid and liquid contaminants from the air in a swirl chamber. In this swirl chamber, the taken-in air is subjected to a swirling or turbulent flow. The contaminants contained in the air are therefore separated by centrifugal force. It was found however that the contaminants can still reach the vacuum system through the suction opening despite the swirling chamber being interposed. This is particularly the case, for example, when during cutting operations performed on the machine tool the cuttings reach the device directly.